A freshman center from Kentucky who shockingly got left out of the draft entirely. The Rockets need to bring him to their summer team and give him a shot.
hopefully, he did not sign with an agent! If not, Go back to Kentucky for one more year....if he did, NBDL is not a bad option...I am so glad they are finally trying to build a true minor league system
College players have a deadline to pull out of the draft, whether they sign an agent or not. It's only HS players that can get drafted and decide to go back to college if they don't like their draft position.
I was wondering what other significant guys went undrafted that we might want to invite to summer league. Kennedy Winston? Who else?
Here are names that jump out at me: Alan Anderson Michael Harris Chuck Hayes Filiberto Rivera Mike Wilkinson Jawad Williams Kennedy Winston
So Jihad Mohammad didn't get drafted? I guess teams were worried about him missing too many flights, or not being allowed into arenas by security.
I was shocked that Morris was undrafted, as well as Rivera. I'd like to see both at camp this summer. On another note, Taft almost went undrafted too. If I hear another person talk about how Taft or so and so was still on the board, and we should not have drafted Head, I'll puke.
I'd like to see Alan Anderson on our summer league team. I think he can develop into a Bruce Bowen type defender. He would be a nice option off the bench, and we could really turn up the perimeter defense with Anderson, Head, and T-Mac on the floor. Add a shotblocker like Swift next to Yao and that has the makings of an impressive defensive unit.
I like Jawad Williams from UNC. Someone Rockets can really use, definitely should bring him to the summer league also and give him a chance.
A guy i'd like to see them bring in for summer league would be John Lucas of Okie State. Famous name if not a famous game. Not a huge fan of the Cowboys (you'd never guess that from my screen name huh) but he learned to run the point from Eddie Sutton and thats got to count for something. He's undersized but his numbers show he's productive if not special. For a bench player it would be nice to have backup point who can score a little, plays solid fundamental defense and while not a great passer doesn't make stupid mistakes either. That said I didn't watch a lot of college basketball this season until the tourney and most of that was Oklahoma so i'm sure some of you will be able to point out that there are other prospects out there more promising which is fine. Just offering an opinion.
A Rocket mention in this article about undrafted Donnel Taylor of UAB seeing Houston as a summer league possibility. Wouldn't mind Kennedy Winston either... UA's Winston, UAB's Taylor go undrafted Wednesday, June 29, 2005 STEVE KIRK News staff writer One through 60, the names were called to the microphone at New York's Madison Square Garden. Star players, foreign players and high school players - a record nine in the 2005 NBA Draft. After four hours and 60 selections, the names of Alabama's Kennedy Winston and UAB's Donell Taylor were not called. Winston was among seven Southeastern Conference underclassmen who left school early to enter Tuesday's draft. Only one was chosen - LSU forward Brandon Bass - and he was No. 33 overall to New Orleans, in the second round, where no contracts are guaranteed. It was a sour night for the SEC. Winston, a 6-foot-6 wing player who led the Crimson Tide in scoring during his sophomore and junior seasons, went undrafted along with SEC underclassmen Matt Walsh and Anthony Roberson of Florida, Randolph Morris and Kelenna Azubuike of Kentucky and guard Kelenna Azubuike, and Olu Famutimi of Arkansas. The league's only other picks were Florida senior forward David Lee, who went 30th overall to the New York Knicks, Bass, and Mississippi State senior forward Lawrence Roberts, who went 55th overall to Seattle. For Winston and Taylor, UAB's 6-foot-6 swingman who finished his senior season, their NBA future will begin as free agents. Taylor said before the draft that he looked forward to getting a shot as a free agent if he wasn't picked. One possibility could be Houston, which had Taylor in for two workouts but did not have a second-round selection. Taylor, who played his final two seasons at UAB after transferring from Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) Community College, visited some 15 NBA clubs for pre-draft workouts and should get a chance with one of those teams. He fell short of becoming the 15th UAB draftee and the first since Reginald Turner went in the second round to Denver in 1989. Winston was hopeful he would be taken at the very least in the second round. He'd even reserved a spot for 20 family members and friends at Wings restaurant in Mobile Tuesday night - a night that turned out to be memorable for all the wrong reasons. "Randolph Morris, (Duke junior) Shavlik Randolph, Walsh, Roberson - what are they thinking?" ESPN analyst Dick Vitale screamed into his microphone late Tuesday night. "They're leaving school early, and they're going to be basketball vagabonds. They're listening to the wrong people." The NBA guarantees first-round picks contracts for three years, while second-round picks don't get paid unless they make the roster. Sixty percent of NBA players on rosters this season were first-round draft picks, according to ESPN. Twenty-four percent were second-round picks and 16 percent were undrafted players. Like UAB's Taylor, Winston will have to secure a free-agent contract, then head to NBA summer-league play hoping to impress someone's front office. News staff writer Steve Irvine contributed to this report. http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1120036973102930.xml&coll=2
